Stocks edge higher on earnings news, Bernanke

The Associated Press

Posted:
07/17/2013 01:07:22 PM PDT

Updated:
07/17/2013 01:07:39 PM PDT

NEW YORK—Stocks are closing with slight gains after earnings gains from major U.S. companies and reassurance from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that there was no "preset course" for ending the bank's massive bond-purchasing program.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 18 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,470 Wednesday. American Express and Caterpillar held the Dow back.